"First stop," Alex told himself, as he confidently worked his way up towards the wealthiest section of town, "is The Golden Pavillon." Heading past dozens of store fronts displaying the most elaborate of various goods, Alex went all the way to the furthermost northwestern section of town.
Finally stopping in front of an enormous four story mansion, that was more reminiscent of a castle than a normal shop, Alex finally worked up his courage and headed towards the entrance. Truthfully, Alex was uncertain if he should even push open the doors and go inside, once he got up to them. It was his grandest desire to form a lasting relationship with The Golden Pavilion. He just wasn't certain if *now* was the best time to forge it, or if he should wait until later, once his name was better known.
"Better to offer my name and respectful greetings now," Alex assured himself, working up the courage to finally go inside, "rather than take a chance that they'd view not doing so as being disrespectful. Arrogance can be forgiven, but disrespect is never forgotten."
"Can I help you, milady?" Before his eyes had even adjusted fully from the bright outdoor light to the warm lamplight of the room, a well dressed gentlemen respectfully walked up and bowed deeply in front of Alex. "Are you looking to buy, or to sell today," the gentleman asked respectfully? "Or, are you perhaps here for some other reason?"
"I… I'd actually like to spe.. speak to the person in charge," Alex answered, stammering slightly.
"Does the lady have an appointment?" Holding out a white gloved hand, the gentleman, who was dressed surprisingly like a butler in Alex's opinion, motioned for Alex to follow him as he slowly led the way back into a plain, small office.
"No appointment," Alex admitted, shaking his head from side to side, as the butler looking man gracefully sat at the far side of the desk in the room.
"Please, sit," the man motioned amiably, indicating either of the chairs opposite him. "Can I get the lady a drink? We have a variety of options readily available for our guests."
"No thanks," Alex said, sitting down in one of the chairs and crossing his left leg over his right knee. "I'm really just here to pay my respects to the management, and to see if we can open up a friendly dialog which could lead to future profitable interactions between us in the future."
"Oh ho," the butler chuckled, raising an eyebrow slightly. "And may this one ask exactly what business interactions you're interested in?" Smiling lightly, it was almost impossible to read anything from his rigid posture and unblinking poker face.
"Not unless you're one of the crowns of the business," Alex answered dryly, wishing now that he'd accepted that drink when it'd been offered earlier. Unannounced, unknown, and unwilling to state his business — Alex knew his actions were over the line, and, if he was being honest with himself, he truly was expecting to be tossed out on his head at any moment.
"Oh ho! Interesting. Interesting." Staring at him as if he was an unusual insect to be dissected on an alchemist's table, the butler never blinked, changed his expression, or twitched in his posture in the slightest. "Then let me ask this," he stated, unblinkingly, "can you at least tell me if this is a personal or business matter?"
"Personal business?" Alex answered, not sounding entirely certain himself.
"I see. I see," the butler repeated himself, before slowly sliding back his chair and standing. "If the lady will forgive me then," he bowed lightly, "this one will go and see if someone more worthy might be able to settle your needs."
"That… That'll be fine," Alex assured him, waving his hand slightly to show he didn't mind.
Bowing once again, the man dressed as a butler slowly walked past the desk. Opening the door, he silently stepped outside without saying another word, before quietly shutting it behind him.
"Not really much in here," Alex muttered softly to himself, casually snooping around, trying to calm down as he waited. "One desk and three chairs," he sighed, taking inventory. Since the vast majority of people couldn't read, obviously there wasn't any books or magazines for Alex to use to pass the time. All he could do is basically just sit and twiddle his thumbs as he tried to wait patiently.
First five minutes passed. Then ten more. Another fifteen, and Alex was beginning to feel like he was completely forgotten about. It wasn't until almost an entire hour had passed, and Alex's patience had reached the extreme of its breaking point, that the door finally opened and a young lady walked in.
"Oh! I'm sorry," she immediately apologized, curtsying lightly the moment she saw Alex sitting there. "I didn't realize this room was occupied. If you'll excuse me…"
"WAIT!!" Almost flipping his chair over in his rush, Alex turned to quickly grab the girl's wrist and hold onto it, before she could bow and walk back out the door.
"Wha.. Wha.. What ar… ar.. are you doing?" Panic obvious on her face, the young lady stammered repeatedly, looking as if she was getting ready to scream bloody murder at any moment.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Quickly letting go of her wrist, Alex held both his hands up in front of his chest to show he meant no harm. "I didn't mean to frighten you," he apologized sincerely. "I've just been stuck in here so long, I figured everyone had already forgotten about me. I was just hoping to speak to someone before I had to give up and go to another meeting soon. My apologies for grabbing you."
"Th.. That's okay," the young lady declared magnanimously, though she still stammered slightly as she used her hands to brush imaginary wrinkles out of her skirt. "I.. I wasn't scared," she assured Alex, as she boldly walked past him to gracefully sit at the chair on the opposite side of the desk.
"I'm sorry you had to wait so long," she apologized first and foremost, bowing her head lightly in a sign of admission of guilt.
"It's no problem," Alex assured her, before apologizing again in return. "Are you okay though? I didn't bruise your wrist, or anything, when I grabbed it, did I?"
"I'm fine," she assured him, waving her hand slightly in dismissal. "I was merely startled when a man of your caliber suddenly reached out for me. The fault is mine, for overreacting as I did. Now," straightening upright, the young lady tried hard to assume an "all-business" poker expression like the butler had earlier. "Exactly what can I do for you today?"
Blinking several times, Alex looked up and down at himself repeated, utterly confounded by her words. Big breasts? Check. Girly clothes? Check. Long hair? Check. All the right curves in all the right places? Check. Wondering if he'd heard her right, Alex had to ask, "A man of my caliber?"
"Yes?" The young lady was now the one sounding confused.
Silence descended heavily in the room for several moments as Alex and the young woman simply stared at each other unblinkingly.
Looking about his age, or perhaps even a little younger, Alex didn't see much about the young lady that stood out as overtly suspicious or unusual. Sure, she was probably one of the top tier beauties that he'd ever seen in his life — but that was almost to be expected with her position. Sex sells. Beauty sells. And she was one of the salespeople for the largest auction house on the continent. Alex didn't find it the least bit strange to think that alchemists would've been hired to alter and enhance her beauty — especially since his roommates had already did much worse to him!
From her long golden-curled hair, to her well rounded breasts and cushiony hips, even to her slim and dainty feet, she appeared to be nothing more than a well pampered young lady from a noble house. And yet…
"You can tell I'm a man?" Unable to endure the awkward silence any longer, Alex had to ask.
"What else would you be?" Looking completely puzzled, the young lady's stoic attempt at a poker face collapsed instantly. "I've never seen anyone else in my life, who's more of a man than you," the girl asserted firmly. "You're probably a thousand times more man than most of the idiot's who work here are," she proclaimed certainly; absolutely no sign of doubt or deception written on her face.
"Umm… Okay?" Alex's mind was completely addled. If he was completely honest, there was even times nowadays when he doubted his own manliness. *NOBODY* had been able to tell he was a man, for the longest time now. And yet?? This young lady unhesitatingly called him a man amongst men? He was utterly confused!
"Are.. Are you making fun of me?" Pooching her lower lip out, the young lady looked almost as if she was about to cry, leaving Alex completely unable to guess her age. When he'd first saw her, he'd assumed her to be older than him. After she sat down opposite so he could get a better look, he'd assumed her to be about his age — perhaps a year younger. Now, by her actions, she seemed almost childlike and innocent.
"I'm sorry," Alex found himself apologizing again, gently. "I'm not making fun of you. Honest," he declared, crossing his heart with his hands. "I'm just honestly not used to people seeing me as a man," he assured her, speaking softly and gently like he would to a small child.
"Oh!" Face brightening up instantly, the young lady's musical laughter echoed gently throughout the room. "That's just cause people are idiots," she told him, beaming brightly, before struggling to try and get back into business mode. "Now, what can I do for you, today?"
"Umm… I'd actually like to sell this," Alex told her, digging into the side pocket of his pants, and holding out a small clear vial of silver liquid.
"Silver Mercurial Extract." Taking the vial, the girl identified the contents almost immediately. "Is it registered?" With just a glance, she somehow cut to the heart of the problem perfectly. The young child was gone again in Alex's eyes — replaced under the sharp and unblinking gaze of what now looked like an ageless expert to him.
"It's not," Alex admitted, hesitantly. "The one making it…"
"One hundred gold per vial," the young lady cut him off, apparently not caring about hearing any explanation.
"Two hundred a vial," Alex told her, "and my contact can produce more over the next few months." He wasn't ready to admit he was the one who made it — after all, he didn't even have a license to do the most basic alchemy!
"One fifty for this vial," the girl replied after a moments consideration. "Then two thousand for fifteen vials, to be delivered no later than two months from now."
"One fifty now, and thirty-five hundred for twenty-five vials to be delivered no later than two months from now," Alex countered.
Pausing to think a moment, the golden dressed girl finally nodded. "Agreed."
"And how about a ten percent bonus if we deliver in half that time?" Grinning brightly, Alex couldn't help but to press his luck.
"How about we make a bet instead," the young girl looked over, blue eyes staring directly at Alex's face.
"A bet?" Alex asked, intrigued. "What type of bet?"
"If you can produce twenty-five vials of the same quality as this, within a month, I'll give you a five hundred gold bonus," the girl smiled warmly.
"And if I fail," Alex asked wearily?
"Then you'll have to work as my personal assistant for a month," she chuckled lightly, blue eyes twinkling. "After you do manage to fulfill the contract that is," she clarified unblinking.
Biting his lower lip almost hard enough to make it bleed, Alex finally nodded at her. "Deal." Holding out his hand, she took it with her own, her soft fingers warm and gentle as she shook with him on it.
"Then I'll be back in just a moment with your coin," the young lady assured him, laughing lightly as she released her grip and slowly got up to walk out of the room, leaving poor Alex all alone to sort out his jumbled thoughts.